Mario Fannin's senior season has been a bust.
The tailback opened the year as Auburn's starter and was expected to be the main character in Gus Malzahn's masterpiece. Fannin fumbled in the team's first game, reinjured his surgically repaired shoulder during the second game, lost his job before the third game, fumbled again during the fourth game.
As stories go, this one falls well short of a fairy tale.
Yet Malzahn demonstrated support for Fannin last week, giving the senior a team-high 10 carries. Coach Gene Chizik may despise fumbles, but marginalizing one of his most talented players, he said, is not an option.
"We don't think he's going to fumble a lot. Everybody's going to fumble once in a blue moon,"
Chizik said. "He's got to help us. He's a very good football player and he's a big part of what we're trying to do when he's healthy."
Fumbles have been dogging Fannin for years.
He lost the ball twice during Auburn's home loss to South Florida in 2007. Fannin lost a fumble a week later against Mississippi State and watched his role disappear once junior Brad Lester returned from suspension.
He suffered a serious shoulder injury during the spring of 2008 that required surgical intervention. Coaches soon shifted him to wideout, they said, to lessen the possibility of additional shoulder issues.
Fannin split time between the two positions throughout 2008 and 2009, which forever changed the player's reputation. His receiving skills improved dramatically. He also was viewed as someone incapable of handling the full-time workload at tailback.
That perception seemed to be changing when Malzahn made Fannin his de facto ground-game centerpiece during fall camp. A September loaded with troubles altered that plan significantly, but Fannin still believes he's capable of making substantive contributions at both positions.
"I can definitely do that,"
he said. "That's the thing I want to do this year -- to be able to help my team in both aspects of the game. Hopefully, the coaches will be able to trust me in that aspect."
